Star Wars 1. Chapter 1

_Author's note. Just something I came up with, an original version of the classic Star Wars saga. Start off like the original but then there is a twist. I know I start off by going over old ground but just bare with me, it's only the prologue. There is a slight warning for brief language._

_Hope you all enjoy it and please review._

Prologue.

_Couruscant._

Anakin Skywalker had had a choice.

The way of the Jedi? Allow Jedi Master Mace Windu to strike down the Sith Lord Darth Sidious who had for the last thirteen years been Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, known as Palpatine. The Sith were obsessed with wiping out the Jedi, Palpatine had caused the bloody conflict known as the Clone Wars, this Sith had committed many crimes, his apprentices had attempted to kill him many times. He was sworn to protect the Galaxy from the likes of him. The Jedi had freed him, they had taught him the ways of the Force and had looked after him since he left his home Planet as a young boy.

The way of the Sith? The Sith offered power, far beyond the young Jedi's dreams, both physical and mental powers. Palpatine had always listened, always understood, respected the young man's decisions and gently offered his own advice. The Jedi Knight could have anything and everything he wanted, including....his young wife. He could save her as he had been unable to save his mother and she would love him and they would love their newborn child together. They wouldn't have to hide and he would be with her throughout when they had their next one. He would bring justice to the Republic, banish slavery to darkest memory and fix the corrupt Senate.

He had a choice.

He chose the way of the Sith.

"_Arise Lord.....Vader."_

"_Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the Republic. Do what must be done."_

_An Order was initiated. An army of Clones led by a Jedi General marched on the Temple._

"_Do not hesitate."_

_Jedi were cut down by Clones and their former comrade alike. No one was spared._

"_Master Skywalker, there are too many of them, what shall we do?"_

"_Show no Mercy."_

_No one._

_A Senator from the Planet of Naboo watched in horror as the Jedi Temple burned. She clutched her swollen abdomen as she feared for her Jedi husband. But by morning he came and told her everything was alright, she didn't need to worry anymore. He was going to make the Galaxy safe for her and their child which would be a girl though she disagreed with this. She believed him and begged him to come back soon, so he promised he would. And then he left._

_All over the Galaxy, Jedi fell to their Clones as they ruthlessly carries out Order 66 which had been programmed into them since before they were born. Jedi, in their thousands died. But some did not. _

_One was the oldest Jedi living and he survived and escaped with the help of two Wookies one of which would play a part in the future of the Jedi though no one knew at that time. The Jedi's name was Yoda._

_Another Jedi who survived was Obi-Wan Kenobi, former Master to Anakin Skywalker, now his comrade, his brother. When he saw those holograms, his heart broke with grief. His duty was to the Jedi, he had to destroy the Sith. Even if that meant destroying his brother._

_He went to the only one he could trust, the only one besides the Emporer who might know where Anakin was. When he arrived she greeted him with relief and warmth but would not believe him when he told her what Anakin had done._

"_I have seen a hologram of him....killing Younglings."_

"_No, not my Anakin. He couldn't."_

_He knew she would not betray her love but he also knew that she knew where he was. So he left, but knew he would have to follow._

"_Anakin's the father isn't he? I'm so sorry."_

_Mustafar._

"_The Separatists have been taken care of, my Lord."_

_Darth Vader had just finished reporting to his new Master when he saw a ship approach. He saw it was his beloved wife, his prize for betraying the Jedi. Wearing the mask of Anakin Skywalker he ran to her and she hugged him tightly. But then she opened her mouth._

"_Obi-Wan told me terrible things. That you turned to the dark side. That you killed Younglings."_

_He didn't want to hear this, he didn't have to listen to this. She should be grateful. But she was not listening to how he had would make the Galaxy a better place. She needed to be put in her place._

"_The Jedi turned against me."_

"_Don't YOU turn against me." _

_Fool she started crying, why was she crying?_

_Why was he doing this? He claimed it was out of love, but he would rather power than love. She couldn't lose him, not after the heartache of the Clone Wars._

"_I don't know you anymore."_

"_Anakin, you're breaking my heart, you're going down a path and I can't follow."_

"_Because of Obi-Wan?"_

"_Because of what've you've done. What you plan to do."_

_His eyes burned as he saw the outline of the Jedi, against HER ship._

"_Stop, come back."_

_She betrayed him. The ungrateful little bitch betrayed HIM._

"_I love you."_

"_LIAR."_

_He had seen through her lies, now she would pay._

"_What.......NO."_

_She would suffer._

"_You're with him, you brought him here to kill me."_

_The fire of the Sith coursed through his veins, she needed to be taught a lesson of obedience. And before the Jedi could stop him, the Sith Lord advanced on his helpless pregnant wife and raised a gloved hand._

"_Anakin, no."_

_He cut off her lying breath and choked her, ignoring the demands of the Jedi._

"_Let her go, Anakin."_

"_Anakin" she barely managed to whisper._

"_Let her GO."_

_Just as the Jedi lunged, he threw her away, she crashed into a stone wall and slide to the ground, unconscious. He would deal with her after he had dealt with this meddling Jedi. Maybe a beating would make her see things his way._

_With a snarl he rounded on the Jedi, his old Master who just stood there, shocked._

"_You turned her against me."_

"_You have done that yourself."_

_The Jedi moved towards the limp figure on the ground, but Vader cut him off._

"_Stay away from her, you will not take her from me."_

"_Your greed and lust have already done that" the Jedi snapped back before his expression turned pleading. "Anakin let me take her into the ship, she needs medical attention, she should not be outside in this acid environment."_

"_No, you do not get to touch her, you don't not get to do anything with her. She is mine Obi- Wan, not yours" Vader roared prowling in front of the body of his wife, like a possessive animal guarding its prey._

_Obi-Wan gazed at the dark man in front of him, did he truly believe his words, that Obi-Wan wanted Padme for himself. That was the way of the Sith, his poor apprentice could not see that, Sith did not marry because they could not trust._

_At Obi-Wan's silence, Vader continued._

"_I'll let you go Obi-Wan for old times' sake. You can go and retire on some distant Planet, meditate, it's what you've always wanted. I won't seek you and we can both live our lives happy. Just walk away Master."_

"_If only I could."_

"_Do you not see Obi-Wan, I have brought peace, justice and security to my new Empire."_

_While Vader said this, Obi-Wan stretched out with the Force to feel how Padme was. She was still alive, but weak, very weak. She would need help and soon. But Vader would never allow this. So he straightened his back, shed his cloak and turned to the Sith Lord who already shed his own dark cloak._

"_Your new Empire?"_

"_Don't make me kill you" Vader said quietly, his back now to Obi-Wan._

"_Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to Democracy."_

"_If you're not WITH me, then you are my enemy."_

"_Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must" the Jedi said, drawing his Saber._

_Vader made a sound of derision._

"_You will try" the Sith before back flipping as he drew his Saber and lunged at the Jedi. And so began their battle._

_Couruscant._

_Elsewhere in the Galaxy another fight of light and dark was about to commence. A very elderly and diminutive figure calmly walked into the offices of the new Emperor. The red robed guards proved to be no obstacle. As they slide to the floor, the old Jedi said serenely._

"_I hear a new apprentice you have, Emperor. Or should I call you....Darth Sidious?"_

_The old Sith slowly turned in his seat._

"_Master Yoda" he greeted. "You survived."_

"_Surprised" replied Yoda with a hint of humour._

"_Your arrogance blinds you Master Yoda and now you will experience the full power of the dark side" Darth Sidious snarled and with that, he sent a jet of Sith lightening which hit the frail Jedi and propelled him into the wall. _

_Mustafar._

_The two men tore through the Control Room, barely noticing the dead bodies, only focused on each other. This was a fight to the death, there would only be one victor. But even that victor would pay a price, they knew each other too well, had sparred together for thirteen years. It was more than Sith versus Jedi, this was personal. And on they fought._

_Couruscant._

_Sidious softly laughed as he approached the still form of the Jedi._

"_I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend."_

_As he cackled, Yoda struggled to his feet to glare definitely back._

"_At last the Jedi are no more" Sidious sneered._

"_Not if anything to say about it, I have" Yoda said as he forced shoved Sidious away to crash into his desk._

_As Sidious got up, Yoda took a defensive position._

"_At an end your rule is. And not short enough it was."_

_Sidious tried to leap away, to the door, but with a leap of his own, Yoda beat him to it._

"_If so powerful you are, why you leave?" And Yoda ignited his lightsaber._

_Like his apprentice, Sidious made a noise of derision._

"_YOU will not stop me. Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us" and his hand spat a beam of red light._

"_Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced maybe. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force."_

_And just like the younger Jedi and Sith, fighting on a far away on a volcano Planet, they lunged at each other and engaged. And so the twin forces fought, light against dark, dark against light. Yoda and Sidious used their knowledge and mastery to combat each other, while Obi-Wan and Vader fought a deadly dance through the spewing lava. _

_Eventually for the older pair it had to end, they did not fight with the raw energy that their counterparts fought with. Sidous tried to destroy the little Jedi Master with Sith lightning but Yoda refused to submit and the build up of power became too great and both were sent flying. _

_Sidious caught himself but Yoda plunged deep into the Senate. He survived but he could not fight any more and so fled. Escaping the Clones he made it out the building and Senator Bail Organa flew him to safety. Meanwhile the Sith Lord glared from his position high above in the Senate at the place where his opponent had disappeared._

"_There's no sign of his body sir" a Clone trooper informed him._

"_Double your search" Sidious ordered and as the Clones moved to do it, Sidious turned to his aide._

"_Tell Captain Karggi to prepare my ship, I sense Lord Vader is in danger."_

_Mustafar._

_They fought, neither giving ground and the very Planet seemed to roar in response to their epic duel. But even the fires of Mustafar could not stop them, though it tried. They rode the fiery river of molten lava, till they reached a waterfall made of fire. _

_But they survived and continued on with their fight._

"_I have failed you Anakin, I have failed you."_

"_I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over."_

"_Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil."_

"_From my point of view, the Jedi are evil."_

"_Then you are lost."_

_The end was near and they both knew it._

"_This is the end for you my Master."_

_But Obi-Wan dodged his attack and managed to land on the firm bank of the shore._

"_It's over Anakin, I have the high ground."_

"_You underestimate my power."_

"_Don't try it" Obi-Wan almost whispered._

_But he did and was cut down by his brother. Obi-Wan left him there as he burned, pausing only to take his Lightsaber. He reached the ship to find that Padme was on board but hadn't woken up. They left the fire Planet to find Yoda and as they did so, another ship landed and retrieved a body from the black shore of Mustafar._

_Poliss Masa._

_When they arrived at Poliss Masa, Obi-Wan took his brother's wife to the Medical Centre, but it was too late for her. She was dying and all they could do was to save the babies._

_A wail eventually cut through the air as the first was born. Obi-Wan held it in his arms for Padme to see. She smiled and touched her baby's face._

"_It's a boy."_

"_Luke."_

_Another wail pierced the air and this one was held by Bail who stood at Padme's other side._

"_It's a girl."_

"_Leia."_

_Couruscant._

_Meanwhile a man, who was once a Jedi, was treated and rebuilt. He was now only half of what he was before, in both mind and body. Anakin Skywalker was dead. His Master stood by him throughout, making sure as much of his apprentices' power was saved as possible. He felt the ripple in the Force that told him a life had just been lost, but the one on the operating table had not felt it, he was in too much pain._

_Poliss Masa._

"_Obi-Wan."_

"_There's good in him."_

"_I know there is....still."_

_And Padme Amidala Naberrie Skywalker died, leaving two children crying for their mother._

_Couruscant._

_The table rose, revealing the dark, armour encased figure that was...Darth Vader. He shifted on it, his hands were bound to it. A cloaked figure approached him._

"_Lord Vader, can you hear me?"_

"_Yes Master" a deep mechanical voice replied. Vader turned to regard Sidious._

"_Where is Padme?"_

"_Is she safe? Is she alright?"_

"_It would seem in your anger you....killed her."_

"_I...I couldn't have. She was alive, I felt it."_

_A rumbling began, and then turned into a roar as Vader groaned in grief. The walls were destroyed, droids smashed, metal exploded, in fact the only thing untouched was the cloak figure who smiled as Vader ripped away from the table. Vader stumbled as he took his first steps using his new metal legs, then he threw back his head and howled his anguish._

"_."_

Naboo.

And there you have it, you know what happen before and you know the story of what happened next. But what if, there had been a change, just a slight change, how would it have affected the rest of the story. And what is this change.

The two Jedi and the Senator sat sadly in a small room as they discussed the future of the Skywalker twins. They were on Naboo, where Padme would be buried, on her beloved Planet but one her twins could not live.

"Hidden, safe the children must be kept" Yoda said to the two men on either side of him.

"We must take them somewhere were the Sith will not sense their presence" Obi-Wan said quietly.

"Split up, they should be" Yoda said thoughtfully, turning to Bail, sensing him about to speak.

"My wife and I will take the boy, we've always talked of adopting a baby boy. He will be loved with us" Bail assured them.

"And what of the girl?" asked Obi-Wan.

"To Tatooine, to her family send her" replied Yoda, turning now to face Obi-Wan.

"I will take the child and watch over her" Obi-Wan said firmly.

"Until the time is right, disappear we will" Yoda said as the two men got up and bowed to him. But before Obi-Wan could leave to collect his charge, Yoda spoke again.

"Master Kenobi, wait a moment. In your solitude on Tatooine, training I have for you."

"Training?"

"An old friend has learned the path to immortality. One who has returned from the Nether world of the Force, your old Master" Yoda said with a smile as Obi-Wan's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Quin-Gon?"

"How to commune with him, I will teach you" the old Jedi Master said simply.

Some time later.

Alderran.

Bail Organa delivered a newborn boy into his wife's arms. She smiled down at their son, Luke Organa, Prince of Alderran. His blue eyes opened and he gurgled at his new parents. And their hearts swelled with love at the sight of him.

Tatoonine.

On the desert Planet, a lone figure rode out to a Moisture farm, a newborn girl safely held in his arms. When he arrived and dismounted, he was greeted by a young woman, Anakin's sister in law Beru Lars. She held out her arms, smiling and he gave her Leia Amidala Skywalker. Nodding to her, he left to seek out a home close by to the farm where he could watch and protect.

Beru ran over to her young husband, Owen who was watching the setting suns. She showed him their niece, and he smiled down at her, touching her cheek. And together they watched the suns set, the three of them.

_Author's note. Well that's chapter one out the way, please tell me what you think. Don't know when the next one will be up, it will be about Luke and Leia growing up. I do have a few twists planned for this story, one I think will be a surprise. Till next time. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note. First of all, big thank you to those who have reviewed, sorry for taking so long to get chapter two up I just got bogged down with other stories. But here we are with chapter two._

_Some of you have wondered why I bothered going over what you already know, but the reason was I wanted to present certain points of view and introduce the change in the Star Wars story. But don't worry, there's going to be big changes including one that I think will be a big surprise._

_Mainly from Obi-Wan's point of view, I think you'll be pleased to know Obi-Wan won't be thinking and brooding all the time, he'll be out doing stuff. Not this chapter though, I'm afraid._

_Enjoy and please review._

Three years after the events of Revenge of the Sith.

"Benji, come on, you can do it."

Obi-Wan felt a ripple of amusement as he watched as the little girl ordered...I mean _encouraged_ her little 'brother' over to her. The Jedi was calmly sitting in the shade, what little there was, of a Vaspirator, watching from a distance the domestic scene. A girl of three with braided pigtails was trying to get a one year boy to walk over to her, though the boy seemed pretty content with crawling which was infuriated the girl.

Obi-Wan let out a little chuckle, the boy could walk, but was in no hurry to take it up. His already placid nature was in stark contrast to the fiery nature of the older girl. Leia Amidala motto in life seemed to be _do_ or keep trying till you _do_. There was no don't about her, this young daughter of the late Senator and...Jedi.

Obi-Wan swallowed as grief threatened to overcome him, just the thought of that ultimately doomed couple was enough to bring tears to his eyes. He had known how the two of them had felt about each other, despite what his apprentice thought. He suspected that Padme had suspected that he, well, had suspected. With a soft groan, he abolished himself for not coming up with better word choice in his head, really just because he was on a remote Planet was no excuse for letting standards slipping.

Anyway, as he'd said, he had been aware of the pair's feelings for each other and had even suspected possible marriage but he'd never imagined that the Senator was pregnant. Or that Anakin had suffered nightmares of her death or so Master Yoda had told him. It broke his heart that Anakin hadn't felt able to confide in him, but should he really have expected anything else? Anakin had always felt his Master was too aloft, too cold but didn't he realise that was just the exterior he had grown into showing others? He certainly hadn't been like that when he was a Padawan, sure he'd become serious but was just his way. Losing Qui Gon who'd been like a father, and to then be tasked with the awesome responsibility of raising a Padawan, guiding him , teaching him, protecting him, in short becoming a father. That had been a big reason for his seriousness though of course there were lots of smaller ones.

"_You're the closest thing to a father I have." _

But obviously not close enough, his precious Padawan hadn't felt able to confide in him, even when he feared for his wife's life. How could he have thought Obi-Wan wouldn't help? Forgetting that she was Anakins' wife, she was a very dear friend who _he_ would have done anything to protect. He could have even gone so far as to call her sister, was Anakin not his brother in arms? But no Anakin hadn't, though he'd gone to Yoda, the Grand Master could not have understood the situation and that was why he was no help to Anakin. So Anakin had turned to another, one he trusted, but that someone wasn't Obi-Wan, it was Sidious.

Obi-Wan indulged in some Huttense dialect he had picked up from Anakin, to mentally convey his feeling about Emperor Palpatine, the Sith scum who had feed on Anakin's fear. He had taken advantage of that poor boy when he'd been at his most vulnerable and turned him into a monster. That was how he dealt with the creature that was Darth Vader and his former apprentice, to him, they were two completely different people. Vader had slowly been growing within Anakin throughout the Clone Wars, and when Anakin reached out for help, that was when he had struck.

He knew the good person that had once been a little slave boy on Tatooine would have been horrified at the atrocities Vader had carelessly committed by would have also been unable to do anything. Because by that time, Vader was too strong and he had ruthlessly beaten him down and locked him in the farthest deepest corner of his black soul. And it deeply grieved Obi-Wan that Anakin could never be freed, it was too late for that. The final act of attacking his pregnant wife had seen to that. He had tried to reach Anakin on that duel on the fiery Planet of Mustafar but had failed, failed miserably.

Why had he not simply killed the burning wreck on those blackened shores of the lava? Well, maybe it was because his heart was too full of grief for all the innocents lost, the _Younglings_ lost. Or maybe an image of a frightened little boy wanting to share his cot after a nightmare kept intruding, and stilled his hand. But whatever the reason, that monster had survived, survived to make the whole Galaxy tremble under his gloved fist.

Obi-Wan sighed, sometime he just felt so helpless. It seemed things were getting worse on the 'outside', and here he was sitting around doing nothing. Or at least that's what it felt like sometimes, when he would give anything to blast off this wretched dustball in order to right some of the wrongs being generated in the Galaxy. Vader was out there, carrying out the will of his _Master_, killing and destroying without remorse. Even if he just went to conduct some humanitarian...

"That's right, you can walk. Now walk over to me."

The sound of Leia's voice broke that particular train of thought and he once again focused on the two children. The toddler had actually managed to get to his feet and Leia was trying to coax him over. It was a delightful sight, these two adoptive siblings interacting so easily with each other.

It deeply saddened him that the two children could not be together, but at least they'd both found surrogate siblings. Leia had her brother Benji while Luke had his sister Winter so that was something at least. They would both grow up with a loving family, well as long as nothing happened to them in the meantime.

And that was what kept him here, whenever thoughts of going to just one Planet to try and do something threatened to overwhelm him. He couldn't watch and protect both of them but he was going to do his damndest to ensure one had a happy life.

Owen hadn't been very happy with him hanging around. In fact, he had started to say that it would be better if Obi-Wan kept an even greater distance from the home. He had also mentioned that it might not be a good idea for Obi-Wan to be a part of Leia's life, when an incident a year ago had changed all that.

He had woken to someone calling for him, pleading with him to come and help. What utterly stupefied him was this call had come through the Force and whoever it was, was close. As he sat there, trying to work out what it could mean, a sudden ripple coursed through the Force, someone was in trouble and they desperately needed help. So he leapt out of bed, pulling on his robe and boots and grabbing his Lightsaber, he rushed out the door.

Using the Force, he ran full pelt for the Lar's farm, the source of the pain and desperation. He couldn't tell what it was, all he knew was that it wasn't Leia and that's when he got the call on his comm. It was Owen, begging him to come, Beru, who was expecting, had gone into labour dangerously early and she and her baby were in grave danger.

"I'm already on my way, Owen, just hang on," he had said as he literally flew through the air to reach them.

Looking back, he didn't know how he had done it, with two year old Leia holding her aunt's hand and Owen handing him cloths, he had somehow delivered Beru's baby. With the Force and only the barest knowledge of process, he had stopped the internal bleeding and coxed the premature baby out. Wrapping the squalling boy up, he had handed him to his shocked and white faced father before turning his attention to the mother.

By morning, Beru was in bed, baby Oliver in her arms and a dozing Leia snuggled up to her. Owen, after making sure his family was okay, had taken Obi-Wan for a stiff drink in the kitchen. They had just sat there, until Owen got up, came around the table and grabbed Obi-Wan in a bruising hug, sobbing his thanks.

"I didn't know what to do," he'd said in a terrified whisper. "How did you do it?"

"To be perfectly honest, I don't know," Obi-Wan answered truthfully and Owen released him and slumped down. "I must congratulate you Owen, not only on a beautiful little boy, but on keeping your head. Not many could do that. Both you and Leia were exceptional."

It was then he had realised why he had not failed, Leia had looked at him with those wide brown eyes, and they had told him he could not fail. He didn't know how she, a small child, could know this but she had. He couldn't help but wonder, had she channelled some power while holding her aunt's hand? It seemed at that moment, Death had no chance against those two powerful Force users.

"Yeah," Owen had said, interrupting his train of thought. "She was brilliant."

He had looked at Obi-Wan and said.

"She knew something was wrong, before it even happened. She started trying to get our attention, woke us up. I tried to put her back in her cot but she wouldn't go."

Owen shook his head as he remembered.

"She was shaking, she was so scared, I thought she'd had nightmare but then she pointed and said."

"Aunties Baby in trouble."

Owen had swallowed as he continued.

"And...That's when it happened, the...complications. I didn't know what to do, if Leia hadn't told me to get help, I might not have thought to call you."

He looked at Obi-Wan, straight in the eye.

"She kept saying 'get help', so I did."

Obi-Wan didn't say anything, he knew Owen was a little unnerved by the whole Force and that was one reason he wasn't very trusting of Obi-Wan. So it was to Obi-Wan's great surprise when Owen coughed and said.

"You know on Tantooine, its tradition when a baby is born for the family to celebrate."

He looked Obi-Wan square in the face as he said.

"When Beru's strong enough...would you like to come?"

Only years of training kept Obi-Wan from gaping at this statement, instead he nodded and smiled even as his mind replayed those words.

"_Its tradition when a baby is born for the family to celebrate." "Would you like to come?"_

And ever since then, he had been something of a regular guest at special occasions, naming days, the end of the harvest, you name it. Owen was still gruff but it was just his way, Beru was very welcoming and the children Benji Oliver and Leia Amidala seemed to adore him, which was a little mystifying. And yet...it felt so right.

He watched as Leia finally persuaded her brother over to her, just as Beru came out to hustle them in for afternoon nap. Owen came round the corner, laughing as Leia declared herself too old for naps and scooped her into his arms. As he spun her around, his eyes found Obi-Wan's and he nodded, not in the least bit hostile. And that's when Obi-Wan spoke, in answer to a question Owen had never voiced and maybe never would.

"Don't worry Owen," he whispered softly as he watched them all go into the house. "I will protect you all, my only family. I swear it."

_Author's note. Next chapter will be Bail Organa's point of view as he raises his son Luke. I'm not sure when I will update next but I'll try not to wait so long to do it. Till next time._


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note. I'm really sorry for taking so long to update, I got distracted with other stuff._

_With thanks to Blackash for their suggestion about the Lars son's name, as you will see, I used it. _

_If anyone has any suggestions, don't hesitate to give them to me._

_Just to note, in Medieval times royal children were educated at extremely young ages. They would start learning English, Latin and Greek as soon as they could speak. They were also taught to read and write in these other languages._

_This is just in case anyone finds it incredible that Luke is learning at such a young age._

_Enjoy and please review._

"Father, why were they hurting that Rodian?"

Bail Organa sighed heavily.

He and his four year old son were on the Moon Minera as part of an Aid group. The mountainous planet had recently suffered a series of planetary upheavals, causing worldwide destruction. Bail had volunteered as one of the Senators the Empire was sending to help this Planet.

Of course, the Empire had a vested interest in this planet, it was a miners dream. There were literally hundreds of different precious metals and other materials buried deep within the planets' crust. The Moon was just one huge mine, in simple terms, with a huge exports going out.

Since they had so much minable material, this meant that very little of the planet's resources went to producing its own food. This strongly reminded Bail of Naboo, who relied heavily on food imports to sustain itsself. But thinking of that beautiful planet was still painful so he quickly turned his mind to other, more pressing matter.

Though his son was very young, his was incredibly precocious. He had learned to read at the age of three and was already becoming fluent in other languages, not just Basic. Bail was exceedingly proud of him and knew that this was only the beginning. He was going to ensure that Luke had access to all sorts of different education, and not just ones suitable for learning to be a Prince.

In this Galaxy, you needed to learn new skills to survive. And Luke wasn't just going to survive, he wasn't just going to be prey. He would be something that was neither prey nor predator, he would be a protector. Just like his _other_ parents had been and what Bail himself tried to be.

But back to his son's question.

"He must have caught their attention in a bad way," he said softly to his curious son, wishing he didn't have to explain this kind of thing.

"He didn't seem to be doing anything," Luke pointed out. "I don't understand why they'd hit him for no reason father."

Bail sighed heavily again.

"They...they don't always need a reason Luke," he said, even more softly so that no one would overhear.

His son stared at him, shocked.

"Their bullying him?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Bail said wearily, knowing what his son was going to say next.

"But that's wrong," Luke declared his young face screwed up with confusion.

"I thought Stormtroops were meant to protect people?"

"Ah, there's the thing Luke. Their _meant_ to but they don't always do that."

Luke cocked his head to one side, processing the information his father had just giving him.

"Shouldn't someone tell them they shouldn't do stuff like that. Or what they should be doing?"

"I'm afraid that depends on who's in charge of them," Bail said, starting to led Luke away into a more private spot.

They'd been walking through an ancient open temple that was built into the very mountain they were currently on. They were in the lower hemisphere of the planet, meaning it was very warm, much warmer than Alderann but not quite hot.

Both were wearing loose but comfortable clothing and while Bail had sturdy boots on, Luke had indulged in some sandals. His light skin was starting to turn ever so slightly towards tanned and Bail figures it would be by the end of this trip.

Normally, he wouldn't have taken Luke, he was still so young. But they'd both been en route back to Alderann when they'd gotten the message about Minera. Bail had taken Luke for a little holiday on a nearby world, feeling his son deserved it after doing so well at his studies.

At first he wasn't sure about changing course and going to Minvera but Luke had pleaded that he wouldn't be a bother. And then Breha had thrown in her support and Bail had agreed. After all, it would be educational for Luke and the young boy could also see his father in action as it were.

So here there were, on Minera and now Luke had just seen his first example of Imperial brutality. He'd been hoping to spare his young son this for a little longer though he knew he couldn't and shouldn't shield his on forever.

"You see Luke," Bail began as he sat his son down on a fallen pillar that made a handy place to sit.

"There are some officers who would see nothing wrong with what those Stormtroopers are doing."

He paused and then added.

"There are some who would actually encourage it."

Luke's eyes widened in horror.

"But that's terrible father," he said, sounding like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why would anyone want to do that?"

"Son," Bail said very seriously, dropped down to Luke's eye level.

"You will find as you get older that there are many bad people in the Galaxy, people who like seeing others in pain. Unfortunately, some of these people have managed to worm their way into a position of power, making it much harder to stop them doing bad things."

Luke considered this thoughtfully, chewing his bottom lip in concentration. Finally, he said.

"So, what can we do about it? Is the Officer on Minera a bad person?"

Bail smiled.

"That's the thing you've got to learn Luke. Who the decent ones are. Sometimes, their not aware of what's going on and once they do know, they put a stop to it."

Luke nodded.

"But you are going to try and put a stop to it, aren't you father?"

"I'll certainly going to try," Bail said gently. "But it's a very delicate process. I'm afraid I can't just march up and complain, it isn't done."

As Luke's forehead creased, Bail hurried to explain.

"Luke, it is very easy to make enemies in this Galaxy and keep them. Not so much for allies. I have to get the measure of the officer in charge before I even think of doing anything. Once I do know what sort of a man he is, I can plan my next move."

"Sounds really complex," Luke said with a sigh and Bail chuckled, ruffling his son's hair.

"Yes, it is unfortunately. But that's politics for you."

He chuckled again and stood up straight.

"You'll understand better as you get older Luke. Now, let's get along to our apartment."

"Okay father," Luke replied with a smile, jumping off the fallen pillar and taking his father's hand.

Bail led Luke out of the ancient temple and along a pebbled path lined with scented plants. Colourful birds chirped in the bushes making Luke giggle and this in turn made Bail smile. Luke was quite serious for such a small child, it was nice to be reminded that he was just as carefree as the next child.

"I'm going to a meeting later, remember Luke?"

Luke nodded as the climbed the now slightly steep path, clinging to his father's hand tightly. Bail already had a schedule of meetings and tours that he'd have to complete before this trip was up. And those were just the preliminary events that had been organised, there would soon be many more added to his timetable.

"But you'll be able to play in a little day care centre and tonight, I'll take you out to a local restaurant."

He grinned down at his son who was now smiling.

"Remember the promise I made to you a couple of months ago? Every time we visit a new Planet together, we're trying the local cuisine."

"As long as it's safe for humans," Luke finished, now with a huge grin. "Yeah, I remember daddy, we're going to try the most disgusting food we can find on the menu."

Bail laughed, just like a normal little boy. He didn't doubt somehow that Luke would do exactly as he said and try some positively stomach churning. Bail had heard a local favourite was fat grubs found deep within the some of the mines, a sickly white in colour. Although he'd heard it was marinated in hot spiced which should add considerable colour to the dish.

It was a shame he wouldn't be spending much more of today with Luke but he'd known this when he'd brought his son to this world. He was a Senator, a Prince and as such had many responsibilities that he needed to attend to. Besides, at least he showed Luke never to be lazy and just live off his wealth and status.

His birth mother had certainly done that, she had always put others before herself. And while Bail didn't want Luke to have to sacrifice all happiness, he still wanted to teach him the value of hard work. He'd grow up doing his best to help others while never taking for granted the life of wealth he had been born into.

It was the Alderrian way and it would be Luke's way.

_Author's note. In the next chapter, Leia wanders off and ends up in a world of trouble. Find out how in the next chapter, until then._


End file.

Star Wars, Adventure, Family